Global Immigrants Send $500 Billion Back Home

Seven in 10 international migrants -- roughly 160 million people -- live in higher-income nations, those with the equivalent of an average per capita income of $12,616 or higher, up from 57 percent in 1990, the analysis shows. Photographer: John Moore/Getty Images

Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) -- International migrants are sending
more than $500 billion back to family members each year, almost
triple the figure since 2000, providing a major economic boost
to less-affluent nations, a Pew Research Center study shows.

A rising share of migrants live in high-income countries,
including the U.S., by far the most common destination,
according to the report released yesterday. The U.S. has a fifth
of the world’s migrants, up from almost a sixth in 1990. It’s
also the largest source of payments, sending $123.3 billion in
2012, the Pew analysis of World Bank data shows.

Seven in 10 international migrants -- about 160 million
people -- live in higher-income nations, those with the
equivalent of an average per capita income of $12,616 or higher,
up from 57 percent in 1990, the analysis shows.

“Migrants are moving out, but they are also moving up,”
said Phillip Connor, one of the report’s authors. “It’s not
necessarily people from the lowest-income country groups that
have been more likely to move in the last quarter-century. It’s
more of that middle tier. There’s this movement from middle to
high.”

The report found that high-income countries, many in North
America and Europe, may appear increasingly attractive to
migrants from places such as India and Mexico, whose principal
reason for moving is to pursue economic opportunity.

The analysis, which comes as legislation to revise U.S.
immigration policy is stalled in Congress, underscores the
central role economic conditions play in the flow of immigrants.

U.S., Russia

The report defines migrants as those living for one year or
longer in a country other than where they were born. Many
foreign workers and international students are counted under
that definition, as are refugees and undocumented immigrants.

The U.S. and Russia easily remain the top two destinations,
while Germany has risen to third from sixth in 1990.

The number of immigrants in the U.S. doubled to 46 million
in 2013 from 23 million in 1990. During that time, no other
country has come close to the number of foreign-born people
living within its borders. Second-ranked Russia had about 11
million immigrants in both 1990 and 2013.

Once they move across borders, migrants often send money,
known as remittances, back to families in their countries of
origin. Remittances account for an average of 8 percent of the
gross domestic product of low-income nations, Pew said, basing
its analysis on World Bank data.

Immigrants increasingly were born in what the World Bank
designates as “middle income” countries, where per capita
annual income is between $1,036 and $12,615. About six-in-10, or
135 million, were born in such countries, compared with less
than half of all migrants in 1990.

India, China

Among the middle-income countries, India, with $71 billion,
China, $60.2 billion, and the Philippines, $26.1 billion,
received the most annual remittances.

Even with the growth in recent decades, the foreign born as
a share of the total U.S. population is considerably lower than
in many other nations. About 14 percent of the country’s
population in 2013 was foreign born, a smaller share than in
Australia, with 28 percent, and Canada, 21 percent, Pew said.

The proportion of migrants in the U.S. is also
substantially lower than in some countries in the Persian Gulf,
where the vast majorities of their populations are foreign-born
workers. Citing United Nations’ data, Pew said 84 percent of the
population in the United Arab Emirates is foreign born, while 74
percent in Qatar are.

In the U.S., the regional origins of immigrants have become
more concentrated in recent decades, the study said. Fifty-five
percent of all migrants living in the U.S. are from Latin
American and Caribbean countries, up from 47 percent in 1990,
Pew said.

Prospects for passing immigration-law changes have
languished in Congress amid partisan battles over spending and
health care. The House Republican majority has rejected a
comprehensive plan passed June 27 by the Democratic-controlled
Senate.

The chances for enacting a law by year’s end dimmed after
House leaders said they would consider a series of bills instead
of one comprehensive measure.